tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post5206066237838645620..comments2018-02-22T01:32:03.608-05:00Comments on <a href="http://ionarts.blogspot.com/">Ionarts</a>: Poppea: Alden in BarcelonaCharles T. Downeyhttps://plus.google.com/112700440561211882762noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-45551090464785787072012-07-06T09:15:49.167-05:002012-07-06T09:15:49.167-05:00But when you write that &quot;the staging turns mo...<i>But when you write that &quot;the staging turns mostly nonsensical&quot; (after the Prologue) it really does not appear that you loved it</i><br /><br />Perhaps it is perverse of me, but I do actually enjoy many things that do not make sense. When an opera production makes me laugh -- not just once but many times -- and wonder what on earth what is happening on the stage has to do with the Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-86062907829850443602012-07-05T19:08:28.782-05:002012-07-05T19:08:28.782-05:00But when you write that &quot;the staging turns mo...But when you write that &quot;the staging turns mostly nonsensical&quot; (after the Prologue) it really does not appear that you loved it, as you write above. I don&#39;t actually care whether you loved it or hated it, but I do expect a reviewer to be aware of the shifts in mood and performance if they are trying to evaluate it. Many scenes in this Poppea are deadly serious, and are performed davidzaldennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-69831045579379708532012-07-04T23:54:06.008-05:002012-07-04T23:54:06.008-05:00I should add that I was mostly puzzled by what you...I should add that I <i>was</i> mostly puzzled by what you were going for in <i>Poppea</i>, which is obvious from your reaction to my review. Unlike your productions of <a href="http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2007/05/jenfa_07.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Jenůfa</i></a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/afterhours/music/opera-review-lucia-at-the-kennedy-center.php" rel="nofollow"><i>Lucia di Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-20160477624776601722012-07-04T23:45:16.023-05:002012-07-04T23:45:16.023-05:00@DavidAlden -- I am so honored that you have comme...@DavidAlden -- I am so honored that you have commented on this review. I actually loved the production (and obviously the musical and vocal performances), but I focused on the unusual aspects to give readers an understanding of what you were doing (something that the packaging of the DVD, a little deceptively, does not really do at all). It is only fair in a review to let traditionalists know Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-90036402229141561182012-07-04T18:33:10.216-05:002012-07-04T18:33:10.216-05:00What a shame you completely miss the point of this...What a shame you completely miss the point of this production -- I do not understand how you can ignore the shifts between comedy and serious scenes. I have followed Monteverdi and Busenello rather closely in their Shakesperian multiplicity of tones and sharp mood changes. I know it is pointless to comment on a review, one man&#39;s subjective reaction, but I am very proud of this particular davidzaldennoreply@blogger.com